Lebron is his own worst enemy. Every time he opens his mouth he says something stupid. He's an amazing talent but he is developing a reputation as being thin skinned and mentally weak. Dude doesn't want to take the last shot. Always passing the rock at the end of games. He better win a ring soon cause he is headed down the Karl Malone expressway.

Lebron is his own worst enemy. Every time he opens his mouth he says something stupid. He's an amazing talent but he is developing a reputation as being thin skinned and mentally weak. Dude doesn't want to take the last shot. Always passing the rock at the end of games. He better win a ring soon cause he is headed down the Karl Malone expressway.

MIAMI -- LeBron James and Serge Ibaka were both on the NBA's All-Defensive Team this season, but Ibaka is not impressed with James' skills on that end of the court.

Ibaka, the Oklahoma City Thunder's power forward, said Monday that James was "not a good defender" and that "he can play defense for two or three minutes but not 48 minutes." James responded to the comments before Tuesday's Game 4 of the NBA Finals.

"I don't really care what he says, he's stupid," James said. "Everyone says something to me every series, then (the media) tries to get a quote. It's stupid."

Ibaka made the comments to The Palm Beach Post.

"LeBron can't play (Kevin Durant) one-on-one. They're playing good defense like a team," Ibaka told the newspaper.

In addition to the Finals, James and Ibaka likely will face off this summer at the Olympics. Ibaka plays for the Spanish national team, expected to be the most serious challenger to Team USA's bid to repeat as gold medalists.

The Heat have been rotating defenders on Durant, who is averaging 31 points on 57 percent shooting in the series, but James was his primary defender in the fourth quarter of the Heat's 91-85 Game 3 victory on Sunday. Durant was 1-of-5 shooting in the quarter with James guarding him.

"For me as a defender, I just try to make plays and try to keep my body in front of a great player," James said. "First of all, I'm not playing 48 minutes, and Kevin's not playing 48 minutes. I'm not guarding him for 48 minutes. When I'm on him, I'm just trying to make it tough for him to make shots, which he's going to make."

In other Thunder-Heat player beef news, Heat forward Chris Bosh said there's no longer any bad blood between him and Durant. Last year Durant referred to Bosh when he said, "There are a lot of fake tough guys in this league, and he's one of them," after the two got in an exchange on the court at a game in Oklahoma City.

After a day full of buzz, the $300 LeBron Nike shoe might not be that expensive.

The Wall Street Journal reported in its Tuesday editions that the LeBron X shoe, scheduled to hit stores this fall, would retail for $315.

But one analyst, Matt Powell of SportsOneSource, later told ESPN that price was for Nike+ tech version of shoe, which would be limited in run, and would likely cost closer to $290.

The LeBron X has motion sensors in the shoe to track various metrics including how high the player jumps.

Tuesday evening, Nike spokesman Brian Strong called the Journal's reported price "inaccurate," while clarifying that the main version of the shoe would come at a significantly lower price point.

"The LeBron X will be launched in the fall at a suggested retail price of $180," Strong said, in a statement. "The initial introduction of the LeBron X will be the red, white and blue Nike+ enabled version and that price is still being set, but will be at a higher price to reflect the Nike+ technology embedded in the shoes."

The company, apparently sensitive to the reports of it crossing the $300 barrier, said it still offers signature shoes at value price points, including the LeBron Zoom Soldier, which has a suggested retail price of $120.

Between its Nike, Jordan and Converse Brands, Nike owns roughly 95 percent of the US basketball shoe market.

Despite a rough economic environment, Nike has been able to pass on the rising costs of materials to its consumers with little resistance due to the premium associated with its high-end product.

SportsOneSource reported last month that sales of sneakers that retail for more than $100 were up 30 percent on the year and sales of basketball shoes that cost more than $100 were up 50 percent.

I remember kids being shot dead for Air Jordans..I remember Chris Webber walked away from a Nike Contract cause of the asian kids working conditions and pay..Jordan did not even flinch.

Michael Jordan is so lucky he came to fame with no youtube, he was a huge gambler, he influneced Antoine walker and many NBA players to become addicted to gambling and eventually sending them broke..Jordan has unlimited money apparently.

I remember kids being shot dead for Air Jordans..I remember Chris Webber walked away from a Nike Contract cause of the asian kids working conditions and pay..Jordan did not even flinch.

Michael Jordan is so lucky he came to fame with no youtube, he was a huge gambler, he influneced Antoine walker and many NBA players to become addicted to gambling and eventually sending them broke..Jordan has unlimited money apparently.

The Miami Heat star has the league's hottest-selling jersey, marking the third time the NBA's reigning MVP and Finals MVP has held that distinction. James was No. 4 in the most recent rankings, released in April.

Since then, all he's done is win his third MVP award, a second Olympic gold medal and help the Heat win the NBA championship -- the franchise's second and his first.

"It's an honor to be No. 1," said James, who last had the league's best-selling jersey in April 2011.

The league released its latest sales-rankings list on Wednesday, with the New York Knicks leading the team-sales category for the first time since December 2004.

On the players' list, Oklahoma City's Kevin Durant checked in at No. 2, six spots higher than where he was in April and likely buoyed by the Thunder reaching the NBA Finals. Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers has the league's No. 3-selling jersey, followed by New York's Carmelo Anthony, Chicago's Derrick Rose, Boston's Rajon Rondo, Miami's Dwyane Wade, the Los Angeles Clippers' Blake Griffin, the Lakers' Dwight Howard and the Clippers' Chris Paul at No. 10.

The list is based on sales at the NBA Store in New York and NBAStore.com from April through Nov. 26.

"I give all of the credit to the fans," said James, whose Cleveland jersey topped the league sales charts in 2004. "I would also like to thank all of my supporters and the Miami Heat organization. Let's keep it going."

In the team sales rankings, the Knicks were one spot ahead of the Heat. New York was No. 2 in the April rankings, with Miami then at No. 4.

“ It's an honor to be No. 1.

” -- LeBron James

The Lakers are No. 3 on the new list, followed by Chicago (which was No. 1 in April), Boston, Oklahoma City, Brooklyn, the Clippers, San Antonio and Dallas.

The NBA said it had record-breaking sales over Thanksgiving weekend, saying sales on the so-called Cyber Monday were up more than 10 percent over last year. Cyber Monday last year fell two days after the league and its players announced a tentative end to the NBA lockout.

It was Westbrook's first time on the list. Rondo and Paul each moved up four spots, and the Lakers were the only team with three players among the top 15 best-sellers.

Rose was No. 1 on the most recent list, released April 26. Houston guard Jeremy Lin, whose now-former Knicks jersey was No. 2 in the April rankings, fell out of the top 15.

I literally cannot stand the fakeness of Durant.his torso is covered with tattoos, he kept his arms free of tattoos for marketing reasons and to act like a nice guy, when they guy is such a feral girl.

Makes Lebron sound like a total douche acting like that in a club, but to be honest if I was in his position or even some lowly nba scrub, I would probably act like that too on occasion. Not all the time though.

I have actually seen several NBA players in the clubs and none of them act like that. Sure they hang out together but they also socialize with other people in the club.

LeBron James is the most popular male athlete in America for the first time in his career.

So says a new Harris Poll, which surveyed what it says is a representative sample of 2,241 people in the U.S. last month.

LeBron James, who fell out of the top 10 in 2011 after choosing Miami over Cleveland, was voted most popular male athlete in the U.S. for the first time.

James, whose highest ranking was No. 2 last season, topped retired Chicago Bulls star and Charlotte Hornets owner Michael Jordan, who had the distinction of being No. 1 from 1993 through 2005.

It was a long road for James to get to the top. In 2011, the year after his "Decision" to go to Miami, James fell completely out of the top 10.

James was most popular among the 18-36 and 49-67 age demographics, while the poll reflected that Generatrion Xers (37-48) preferred Jordan.

Rounding out the top 5 is retiring New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter, Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning and in a tie for fifth is Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant and NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Three of the top four most popular women are tennis players. The Williams sisters, Serena (No. 1) and Venus (No. 3), are joined at the top by Maria Sharapova (No. 4). Despite her inability to get into Victory Lane, Danica Patrick took the No. 2 spot, while retired soccer player Mia Hamm came in at No. 5.

The sport that has the most popular male athletes in the top 10 is, not surprisingly, football. After Manning at No. 4, New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady is No. 7, New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees is No. 9 and Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers snuck into the top 10 at No. 10.

The favorite male athlete list includes only one player who has retired (Jordan), but the women's list includes four athletes in the top 10 who have hung it up: Hamm, tennis greats Billy Jean King (tied for sixth) and Chris Evert (tied for eighth) and beach volleyball player Misty May-Treanor (No. 10).

Two male athletes dropped off the list from last year -- Phil Mickelson and Tim Tebow.